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jwaneeta at 09:43pm on 06/11/2003
jwaneeta at 09:43pm on 06/11/2003Sandy's apt comments (@ Tea at the Ford) about the comic book elements of The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinquo made me remember my duty.
The work of the Hernandez Brothers was earthshaking for comics back in the 80s. They created with canny perfect lines, in black and white (they practically gave birth to the black and white boom that followed) and by dint of sheer talent made even the most hesitant reader believe the world they made: one big crazy barrio where locas rubbed elbows with demons and vatos, with superheros and alienated cops and ubiquitous masked wrestlers.
http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/lr/lr.html
Los Bros Hernandez are all over Numero Cinquo, stylistically, and I rec their work for its own lasting merit, too. The early numbers of Love and Rockets are still amazing as urban art at its best, and that includes the writing. It's hard to describe the seamless blend of grit and fantasy -- the fantasy works as tragedy, somehow, and the thrillingly beautiful art carries this weird paradox, and it's given life by the power of the relationships -- but it's very Jossian. And predates the Jossverse by a decade.
I only wish I could figure out how to upload some pics. (At this point I can't even find pics, damn it. When I go to Gallery all I see are posts. Where are the pics? Aungh!)
As an (okay, grateful) ex-Los Angelean, I loved seeing LA's all-pervasive Hispanic culture referenced in The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinquo. Made me almost nostalgic at a comfortable remove. *g* Now if they would just exploit a little more of the made-to-order-for-AtS art. The little altar in Number Five's apartment didn't even scratch the surface. There's wealth there for AtS, I tell you. Has anyone seen the candles they sell in bodegas and botanicas (and giant supermarket chains, next to the rice)? One perennial shows a hand, palm out, with an eyeball imbedded in the tip of every finger. It represents, among a lot of other things, God's omniscience and power. Lovely and creepy, those five fingers. I wish that candle had been on the little de Muerte altar.
The work of the Hernandez Brothers was earthshaking for comics back in the 80s. They created with canny perfect lines, in black and white (they practically gave birth to the black and white boom that followed) and by dint of sheer talent made even the most hesitant reader believe the world they made: one big crazy barrio where locas rubbed elbows with demons and vatos, with superheros and alienated cops and ubiquitous masked wrestlers.
http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/lr/lr.html
Los Bros Hernandez are all over Numero Cinquo, stylistically, and I rec their work for its own lasting merit, too. The early numbers of Love and Rockets are still amazing as urban art at its best, and that includes the writing. It's hard to describe the seamless blend of grit and fantasy -- the fantasy works as tragedy, somehow, and the thrillingly beautiful art carries this weird paradox, and it's given life by the power of the relationships -- but it's very Jossian. And predates the Jossverse by a decade.
I only wish I could figure out how to upload some pics. (At this point I can't even find pics, damn it. When I go to Gallery all I see are posts. Where are the pics? Aungh!)
As an (okay, grateful) ex-Los Angelean, I loved seeing LA's all-pervasive Hispanic culture referenced in The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinquo. Made me almost nostalgic at a comfortable remove. *g* Now if they would just exploit a little more of the made-to-order-for-AtS art. The little altar in Number Five's apartment didn't even scratch the surface. There's wealth there for AtS, I tell you. Has anyone seen the candles they sell in bodegas and botanicas (and giant supermarket chains, next to the rice)? One perennial shows a hand, palm out, with an eyeball imbedded in the tip of every finger. It represents, among a lot of other things, God's omniscience and power. Lovely and creepy, those five fingers. I wish that candle had been on the little de Muerte altar.